1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sun visor arm connection assembly for a vehicle having a wire harness to which the assembly attaches.
2. Background Art
Current sun visor assemblies typically include hollow arms, molded flexible wire inserts, molded rigid wire inserts, or a combination of both to transmit power from an overhead wire harness, and through the sun visor arm to a mirror visor light switch or other switch disposed in the assembly. The time and difficulty associated in assembling many current sun visors can be relatively significant.
Specifically, in the assembly of many current sun visors, it is advantageous for an installer to view the connection of the sun visor arm to the wire harness in order to visually confirm that a proper connection has been made. However, in such assemblies, such visual confirmation is associated with greater difficulty and time consumption simply due to the area encompassed by the vehicle headliner in the vehicle passenger compartment, which blocks the view of a connection between the assembly and the headliner. Thus, in many cases a blind connection must be made, which may create greater difficulty and require more time for assembly.
Moreover, sun visor arm assemblies having molded wire inserts extending through a hollow sun visor arm may experience electrical disconnection, due to continuous twisting of the arm during regular use of the sun visor. Many current sun visor assemblies have connections that become disconnected relatively easily during continuous use over a given time period.
Thus, there is a need to improve current sun visor assemblies in order to reduce the time and difficulty of assembly thereof. Also, there is a need to improve current sun visor assemblies for longer operation life.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sun visor arm connection assembly that allows for a blind connection during installation thereof, and still reduces the time and difficulty of installing the assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sun visor arm connection assembly with longer operational life.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sun visor arm connection assembly of a vehicle having a wire harness to which the assembly attaches. The assembly comprises a visor male connector and a visor female connector. The visor male connector has a plurality of male conductive terminals separably attached to a first insulating body. The male conductive terminals and the first insulating body extend through a base having a ring retainer slot formed thereon. The visor female connector has a plurality of spaced female conductive terminals, wherein each female terminal has an open port configured to engage one of the male conductive terminals. The female connector has a second insulating body disposed about the female terminals. The second insulating body has an open receiving end cooperable with the male connector, wherein the open receiving end has a ring formed thereon. The ring is received in the ring retainer slot to retain the ring in the slot to connect the male connector the female connector.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sun visor arm arrangement of a vehicle having a wire harness. The arm arrangement comprises a plurality of conductive leads, each of which separably extends to a male conductive terminal. The leads are molded to a first insulating body. The conductive leads and the first insulating body are disposed within a molded sun visor arm for housing the conductive leads and the first insulating body. The sun visor arm assembly has a connection assembly for electrically connecting the leads to the wire harness. The connection assembly includes a male connector and a female connector. The male connector includes the male conductive terminal of each of the conductive leads, wherein the male conductive terminals are separably attached to the first insulating body. The male terminals and the first insulating body extend through a base having a ring retainer slot formed thereon. The female connector has a plurality of spaced female conductive terminals connected to the wire harness, wherein each female terminal has an open port configured to engage one of the male terminals. The female connector has a second insulating body disposed about the female terminals. The second insulating body has an open receiving end cooperable with the male connector. The receiving end has a ring formed thereon, wherein the ring complements the ring retainer slot to retain the ring in the slot for electrical connection of the conductive leads to the wire harness.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a sun visor arm arrangement of a vehicle having a wire harness. The arm arrangement comprises a plurality of conductive leads, each of which separably extend to a female conductive terminal. The leads are molded to a first insulating body. The conductive leads and the first insulating body are disposed within a molded sun visor arm for housing the conductive leads and the first insulating body. The sun visor arm assembly has a connection assembly for electrically connecting the leads to the wire harness. The connection assembly includes a male connector and a female connector. The male connector has a plurality of male conductive terminals separably attached to a second insulating body. The male terminals and the second insulating body extend through a base having a ring retainer slot formed thereon. The female connector includes the female conductive terminals, each of which has an open port configured to engage the male terminals. The female connector has a first insulating body disposed about the female terminals. The first insulating body has an open receiving end cooperable with the male connector, wherein the receiving end has a ring formed thereon. The ring complements the ring retainer slot to retain the ring in the slot for connection of the male connector to the female connector.